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Oct
27
Posted by Margot M on October 27th, 2017
Posted in: Communities of Interest
Tags: CHNA, community engagement, professional development
Guest post by Alan Lampson, Lead, Frymoyer Community Health Resource Center, University of Vermont Medical Center
On Oct 10, NNLM NER hosted the second in the series of four webinars for the Community Health Engagement Community of Interest. The focus of this presentation was Community Assessment. Margot Malachowski presented information on the whys and whats of community assessments. She identified four sources of information to pursue when doing a community assessment.
Slide from Community Health Engagement COI
I wanted to highlight one of the resources listed, the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). Some hospitals had been conducting CHNAs for many years before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but with the Affordable Care Act it became a requirement. The act also requires hospitals to develop implementation strategies to meet the community needs that are identified.
During the CHNA, key stake-holders are identified and interviewed and community members are surveyed so that a list of needs can be identified. The CHNA plays a crucial role in identifying the social determinants of health and planning population health management. When considering a community project, you can use the CHNA to see these already identified community needs and the community partners and key informants. The CHNA is also a tool that the hospital can use to explain to regulators and the public what steps the hospital is taking to address the health needs of the community. You can view the CHNA of the University of Vermont Medical Center here.
Anyone who has tried to search for local health data knows it can be difficult to find so don’t forget to look at the Community Health Needs Assessment of your local hospital(s).
You can view a recording of the 2nd session of the Community Health Engagement Community of Interest here.
There are two sessions still to come –
Session Three: Outcomes-based Planning
Describe data collection methodology.
Prepare to gather pre- and post-participation input.
Session Four: Preparing Your Pitch with Data
Practice pitch with peer group.
Identify methods of data display.
If you have any questions about this Community of Interest, please contact Margot Malachowski at Margot.Malachowski@umassmed.edu
ABOUT Margot M